Q: You mentioned the Chargers stadium. What’s your view of that proposed $800 million project downtown?

A: I haven’t been deeply involved in that process. What I have seen in the design and drawings and real estate looks really good to me. I don’t know about the money.

Q: So, now you’re focused on the convention center expansion, estimated at about $750 million.

A: Conventions, like the cruise passengers I talked about, is a phenomenal business for this community. It’s clean; the folks come, leave a lot of money, don’t take a lot of police, fire and services you and I need in this community, and go home, and thank you very much. The convention center has been a huge success for this region and it’s a tremendous economic engine for this community. It provides a spectrum of jobs, from low-wage jobs to high-wage jobs. That’s the beauty of the industry.

Obviously, when we built the last expansion of the convention center (in 2001), it was the convention center of the ages at the time; it served a very large part of the market at that time. As the number of delegates that attend conventions has increased, it has put us at a competitive disadvantage because we haven’t grown. Conventions are larger today, there are more conventions today, so if you have a sheer number of conventions, you’re building one convention while breaking down the next convention. That takes scope and size, … so we need a larger footprint to handle the sheer number of conventions while at the same time conventions have become larger.

Q: But how do you respond to the argument that so many convention cities want to expand and San Diego can never catch up?

A: If you saw Vancouver’s convention center, it’s an experience. Las Vegas is just a great huge box.

Q: But Las Vegas is the experience.

A: That’s right. We need the convention center to be an experience. You’ll be able to function out on the grass at night. How cool would that be, looking out over a view of San Diego! You can’t get that in Chicago or Las Vegas. To me, this convention center with this design (including a 5-acre park on the roof) will be a one-off. It will truly be an experience.

Q: You’re working on the financing plan. How’s that going?

A: It’s coming together. I am spending a huge amount of time with the (convention and visitor) industry. One thing Steve Cushman continues to say is everybody gets to give in this process. Hopefully, there will be no stone left unturned. Everybody gets a chance to put money in.

Q: Finally, in an interview some years ago you spoke of wanting to be mayor since you were a youngster. Are you planning to run in 2012? Won’t that four-year term be fun with all the new projects and events coming up, particularly the 2015 centennial of Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park?

A: Wouldn’t it be fun! If I were 60, I would probably do it, but it’s too late. Next. As you know, I was an often-mentioned candidate. In 1996 I was very serious about it. If Dick Murphy hadn’t run last time (in 2004), I am pretty sure I would’ve run. But my time has come and gone. At some age, you’ve got to grow up. I’m 70 and enough is enough.